


every day is a happy day

by panlesters



Series: this lovely world, these precious days [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Christmas, Dog fic, Fluff, Forever Home, M/M, and colin too, the whole gang is there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panlesters/pseuds/panlesters
Summary: they're hosting their first Christmas in their forever home, and even though they have no idea what they're doing, it might just be okay
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: this lovely world, these precious days [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828915
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	every day is a happy day

**Author's Note:**

> happy christmas mo!! from your secret santa <3   
> here's a new update for everyone's favourite puppy wilbur, enjoy!!
> 
> thank you @plinth-of-life for betaing!!

“Whose idea was this again?” Phil asks as they stand in their kitchen, surrounded by Tesco bags. 

“Yours,” Dan says, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“Right.” Phil sighs. “Although really it was mum’s.” 

“Don’t pull Kath into this.” Dan points a finger at him. “I heard you suggest it, idiot.” 

“I don’t even know the first thing about cooking a turkey.” 

“You should’ve thought about that, dickhead,” Dan says. “I’m not fucking doing it. Mum’s bringing a nut roast.” 

“Shit.” 

Dan snorts. 

They spin around when they hear rustling behind them. 

“Um,” Dan says, giggling, “Excuse me.” 

A little face pokes out from one of the bags and a tiny tail waggles behind it. Dan leans down to lift Wilbur from the floor, holding him to his chest and bouncing him like a baby. 

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, stinker?” 

Wilbur licks his nose in response and Dan pulls a face. 

“Fine, fine, you win,” Dan laughs, letting him down. “Come out, you pest.” 

Wilbur’s head is straight back in the bag and Dan rolls his eyes. It’s only when Phil makes a noise of disdain that Dan looks up from his unpacking again, in time to see Phil leap across the kitchen and Wilbur shoot off. 

“Come back here, Wil!” Phil yells, scrambling after him. Dan can do nothing but stand and cackle, pulling his phone out of his pocket to film as he walks through the house to where he hears some playful growling and some “come on, Wilbur, come out buddy, you can have a treat if you give me the packet.” Dan walks through the house as he films to find Phil kneeling under the table with his ass hanging out, tugging on the bag of cake decorations in Wilbur’s mouth. Dan stands there for a good ten seconds before Wilbur gives in and Phil smacks his head on the top of the table. He shoots out and Dan shoves his phone in his pocket for later. 

“That dog is a menace,” Phil grumbles, rubbing the top of his head. Dan rolls his eyes and gives Phil a quick peck where he smacked his head. 

“There, all better,” he says. “Stop your whingeing, go and unpack.” 

He watches Phil go, pouting and trying to feel sorry for himself. He can’t help but bark out a laugh when he hears Phil yell “OUT!”, followed by Wilbur trotting innocently out the kitchen. Dan shakes his head and coos at Wilbur till he comes over and jumps up, paws on Dan’s shins. 

“Did you upset your papa, little one?” he asks, leaning down to ruffle his fur. “Poor silly puppy, that papa’s so mean, isn’t he?” 

“Fuck off,” he hears grumpily muttered from the kitchen. He snorts and picks Wilbur up for a quick kiss on the head.

“Go on, menace,” he says, putting Wilbur down and letting him go off on his own travels. When he walks into the kitchen, he raises his eyebrows at Phil. “Is someone a little stressed?” 

Phil sighs. 

“I didn’t think this through,” he says quietly. 

“You’ll be fine,” Dan says, walking forwards to press a careful kiss to Phil’s forehead. “Get unpacked and go settle down, before you give yourself a headache.” 

-

They’re midway through tidying the house when Wilbur jumps up at the window and starts to bark. 

“What are you looking at, buddy?” Dan asks, leaning out the window to see a car in their driveway, another dog looking out and barking. He grins. 

Wilbur’s tail is wagging faster than Dan’s ever seen it as he opens the door to his mother and Adrian, Colin in tow. Wilbur is out the door before Dan can stop him, running circles round Colin before dropping playfully. Colin drops in mirror and then he’s pulling Adrian halfway across the driveway. Karen pulls Dan and Phil in for a hug and gives them each a kiss on the cheek. 

“How are you boys?” she asks as she begins to unpack the car. She hands the nut roast tin to Dan and the bag of presents to Phil, pulling out another box herself. She grins and laughs and nods as they tell her all about moving in, repainting all the walls, decorating the interior of the new house. 

“You’ve done a beautiful job,” she tells them as they walk her into the kitchen. “All that was missing was a dog, wasn’t it?” 

Phil laughs, but she’s right. The kitchen would be incomplete without the ceramic bowls by the back door, the couple of muddy pawprints coming in from where Wilbur went out this morning, the ball under the table that Dan wouldn’t get out for fear of spiders. It’s homey. It feels like it’s lived in. Like it  _ belongs _ to them. Which it does. This is where they’ll spend the rest of their life. With dogs and kids and memories. He’s taken aback for a second then, looking at the plain space of wall next to the door in the kitchen, where one day he can imagine little pencil lines with ages beside them, marking the kids’ heights as they grow. One day, there will be rucksacks by the door and school books on the table. It’ll be messy and there will notes everywhere from homework and studying, but it’ll add to their home and it’ll be perfect. 

“Phil?” Karen says, pulling him from his thoughts. 

“Yeah.” 

“We were talking about taking the boys out for a walk through the woods after lunch?” 

“Yeah.” He grins. “Yeah, sure.” 

Martyn, Cornelia and Freja arrive earlier than expected, and they all sit around the table for lunch. When they’re done, Corn sits Freja down and puts her wellies on for the walk through the woods, and they all set out. Martyn and Adrian talk about hiking out a bit further and exploring, Corn walks by Dan and Phil, and Freja walks ahead, one hand in Karen’s and the other holding on to Colin’s leash halfway down. She’s asking Karen all sorts of questions about being vegan, and her little brain tries to join the dots as to how someone could eat cereal without milk. Wilbur’s long leash lets him run alongside Colin, and Freja giggles every time they cross paths and fall over each other.

When they get back, it’s taking off shoes at the door and towelling down muddy paws before anyone goes into the house. By the time the kettle is boiled, the doorbell is ringing for the last time and Kath and Nigel are letting themselves in. They’re given a cuppa in the kitchen and they all stand around and chat, Freja in Kath’s arms. 

“So, mum,” Phil begins. 

“Yes Phil, I’ll do the turkey,” Kath says with a laugh. 

“Oh, thank God.” 

-

They’re woken up in the morning to Freja’s yelling as she runs into Martyn and Corn’s room, the excited squeals echoing into the master bedroom. Dan rolls over and groans into Phil’s neck, pressing a kiss there and poking his side until he stirs. 

“Get up,” he mumbles, “S’Christmas.” 

Phil rumbles a laugh. 

“Are you getting up?” 

“Mm, when there’s coffee.” 

“Lazy shit.” 

“Yep.” Dan rolls back over and curls up around his pillow, and Phil knows he’s lost this fight. 

Christmas morning is spent sat around the tree, opening stockings. Dan and Phil have each done one for their parents, so everyone has something to open. There’s wrapping paper everywhere and Wilbur takes it upon himself to tunnel under it and pop his head out whenever he bumps into someone, a goofy little face emerging with a tongue hanging out. Everyone gives him a fuss and Freja shuffles off of Corn’s lap to dig around in the paper with him, which he thinks is the best fun. 

The kitchen is bustling with things being prepared and cooked, and Kath kicks Phil out after a little while to peel carrots. He sits with Freja at his feet, and she tries her best to help. He gives her pieces of carrot peel and she puts them in the bag on the floor, and he tells her all his favourite Christmas stories. 

There’s a unanimous rule not to let the dogs in the kitchen or living room without supervision. Colin has too terrible a track record to be left anywhere, and Wilbur is still too much of a puppy to know anything about leaving a Christmas tree alone. But when Christmas lunch rolls around, and they all settle down, someone loses track of the dogs and they’re left to run free around the house for a while. No one notices until Martyn and Corn offer to clear up and there are doors left open all round the house. It’s Adrian who peeks his head round the living room door, expecting to find a warzone, but turns around to whisper in a hushed tone for everyone to come and see. 

Under the Christmas tree lie Colin and Wilbur, cuddled together in between two presents, fast asleep. Dan pulls his phone out to snap a quick photo, and there’s a lot of cooing and giggling as the two snore away. Wilbur snuffles his token grunts, and every now and then Colin’s tail thumps on the floor. It’s more than Dan could have hoped for, really, for his two favourite boys to be each other’s new best friend. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments are appreciated, come scream at me on tumblr @ panlesters


End file.
